Monday, August 19, 2013

Twining's Lady Grey, A Tea Review

Before I really get into this review I have to make a generalized apology to my English ancestors. I was out of cream, please do not curse me with a scalded mouth or bad tasting tea!! It just feels so wrong to drink an English tea without cream, it is like going to the South and drinking iced tea without it being sweet or eating sushi without a nice Japanese green to keep me company. There are just certain traditions one must keep.

Why yes, I do already have this tea steeping

Lady Grey is a black tea blend by the prestigious Twining's of London (they have been around since 1706, I think they earn the prestigious title!) who not only lays claim to this original blend, but also the original Earl Grey. Lady Grey is not just Earl Grey for ladies (as the title would have us believe) it is Early Grey for ladies who really like citrus, made from the usual Black Tea, it also has Lemon peel, Orange Peel, and Citrus Flavourings.

And it certainly smells like citrus, which may or may not be a good thing since usually I am not a fan of the taste of citrus. I always find it too tart! The aroma is mostly orange with hints of lemon, sadly I cannot really smell the tea so I have no idea what kind of Black it is just from the smell, hopefully the taste will give me more of an idea. It also vaguely reminds me of air freshener, but mainly because my mom used a lot of citrus based cleansers when I was growing up, so it is impossible for me to not think of cleaning when I smell oranges, maybe that is why they make me so happy?

My mom's tea spoon is cooler than mine

The taste is...well...I think I might have just drank cleaning chemicals. There is so much citrus, but it tastes like fake citrus, I think those 'Citrus Flavourings' might be more artificial than natural which is a shame. I have had plenty of teas that have had orange or lemon peel in the blend that manage to not taste like this.You know when you walk into a freshly cleaned bathroom and you can taste the chemicals in the air? They taste vaguely citrusy but also really wrong...now imagine that overlaying a fairly bland tea and you get Lady Grey. The tea used for the blend is unimpressive, I am assuming it is a Ceylon since it would match the citrus theme and I cannot taste any of the other tell-tale markers of other Black teas.

Looks like clouds in my teacup

Long story short, I do not like this tea...at all...in fact this is the first tea since my Pu-erh migraine incident (tragedy struck that day) that I have disliked. Oh sure there have been teas that didn't wow me, but none that actually made me wonder if someone stored my tea near perfume. At least this tea was not overwhelmingly tart, which is a good point in its favor, I think. Tssk, I expected better of you, Twining's!

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Disclosure

I will give each tea a fair and honest review, regardless if it was bought by me, gifted, or sent for reviewing purposes. Each tea will be treated equal and any poetic waxing or complaints are a result of the tea's quality and not how I received it. Also I do not receive any compensation (other than the tea which I review) for my reviews or this blog.